Ameren Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:AEE)

Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) saw unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 2,984 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 2,268% compared to the average daily volume of 126 call options.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In other Ameren news, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.27, for a total value of $266,901.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 14,495 shares in the company, valued at $1,424,423.65. This represents a 15.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.37, for a total transaction of $557,535.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,344 shares in the company, valued at $4,393,781.28. This represents a 11.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,959 shares of company stock valued at $1,316,712 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameren

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Ameren during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ameren during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Ameren during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. lifted its position in Ameren by 78.7% in the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 470 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on AEE shares. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Ameren from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI raised Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $93.40.

Ameren Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE:AEE opened at $98.77 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $26.66 billion, a PE ratio of 22.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.48. The business’s 50 day moving average is $94.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Ameren has a 52 week low of $69.39 and a 52 week high of $104.10.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.06). Ameren had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 15.51%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Ameren will post 4.93 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a $0.71 dividend. This is an increase from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. Ameren’s payout ratio is presently 64.25%.

About Ameren

Ameren Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a public utility holding company in the United States. The company operates through four segments: Ameren Missouri, Ameren Illinois Electric Distribution, Ameren Illinois Natural Gas, and Ameren Transmission. It engages in the rate-regulated electric generation, transmission, and distribution activities; and rate-regulated natural gas distribution business.